DQIX On DS, Not Wii Or PS3
December 12, 2006
In a shocking announcement SqaureEnix have revealed that the next installment of the wildly popular Dragon Quest franchise, DQ9, will only appear on the portable DS system.
Tho it may seem a baffling choice to Americans, SONY fans, [or Wii fans for that matter] it only makes business sense. DQ is a huge moneymaker on the Japanes Isles. The DS is the current king of the videogaming world, perticularly Japan. Putting DQ9 on a system that not only has the biggest intall base but also the lowest development costs = $$$$ for SquareEnix. As one astute Joystiq commentator said:
This just shows that developers will follow the systems. They have no brand loyalty anymore. It also shows they think the PS3 might not be as big as people had hoped.
Here’s hoping that this is the first of many public notes of affection for Nintendo from Sqeenix.
STREAMING FOOTAGE FROM PRESS CONFERENCE [via GameBrink]
Entry Filed under: 2007, DS, PS3, commentary, console war, developer, event, exclusive, hype, nintendo, online, quote, sequel, success, wii. .
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1.
nerdswerth | December 12, 2006 at 7:55 pm
Famitsu quotes series creator Yuji Horii as saying that creating this game is giving him the same feeling as creating Dragon Quest I for the Famicom back in 1986, because even though there are hardware limitations, they’re pressing on.
2.
nerdswerth | December 12, 2006 at 9:16 pm
N’GAI CROAL:
Why is Square Enix’s announcement of Dragon Quest IX for the Nintendo DS such a big deal? In Japan, the Dragon Quest franchise is the equivalent of Half-Life in the United States. The sequels take a long time to be developed, but when they finally ship, it’s practically a national holiday. From 1986 until 1995, the series had been exclusive to Nintendo’s consoles, primarily because the pre-merger Enix prided itself on waiting to see which console would garner the largest installed base, then carefully crafting the new installment for that machine alone. So when Sony’s PlayStation achieved an insurmountable lead over the Nintendo 64, the company switched horses from Nintendo and released Dragon Quest VII in 2000 just for the PS1. Four years later, with the PS2 firmly in the driver’s seat, Dragon Quest VIII shipped in 2004 solely for the PS2.
With today’s announcement, Square Enix is switching horses again. What’s striking is that the company is taking its franchise not to Nintendo’s Wii, but to the DS. That’s a testament to the phenomenal success that the DS has had in Japan, with 7.5 million DS machines sold in 2006 alone compared to just 1.6 million PSPs. The current Japanese gaming scene is all but synonymous with Nintendo’s handheld, and Square Enix is crowning Nintendo’s achievement with a Dragon Quest of its very own.
3.
mis-ACK | December 14, 2006 at 1:51 am
how many dsss have been sold in the US? Worldwide? Compared to PSP ….you ask ?
DS—25 million +
Psp–10 mill
4.
nerdswerth | December 14, 2006 at 3:53 pm
I’ll have to check
werldwide
DS is probably near 30 M
PSP is about 20 M or more
I know PSP is above 10 M werldwide